Pinto Colvig
American voice actor (1892–1967) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Vance DeBar "Pinto" Colvig (September 11, 1892 - October 3, 1967) was an American actor, voice actor, newspaper cartoonist, circus performer, vaudeville performer, animator, and writer.[1] He was best known as the original Bozo the Clown.[2] He was the voice of Disney's Goofy. In 1993 he was honored with a Disney Legends award.[3]
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Life and career
Colvig was born in 1892 in Jacksonville, Oregon.[1] His parents were Addie and William Colvig. His father was the Jackson County attorney.[4] He was the youngest of seven children. He was nicknamed "Pinto" because of all his freckles.[5] Colvig grew up in Jacksonville and nearby Medford. He spend a good deal of time mimicking the sounds he heard all around him. He could mimic the sound of farm animals, a rusty gate and noises from around the village.[3]
He studied art at Oregon Agricultural College (OAC) (later Oregon State University) in Corvallis, Oregon.[1] in 1916 he married Margaret Slaven. They moved to San Francisco where Colvig worked as a cartoonist for the San Francisco Bulletin and the San Francisco Chronicle.[1]
Silent films
In the 1920s Colvig began working in Hollywood in silent movies.[6] He was a comedy writer and played bit parts for Mack Sennett.[3] He then moved to the Disney studios where he became one of their top artists.[6]
Talking pictures
When movies changed to sound he began doing voices for characters.[1] He is also known for his Disney work as the voice of Goofy from 1932 until his death in 1967. He was the voice of Bluto in Popeye cartoons.[1] He was Grumpy and Sleepy in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.[1] In The Three Little Pigs he was the voice of the Practical Pig.[1] He was also the co-writer of the song "Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?" in the same movie.[5]
Sound artist
From the 1920s he provided sound effects on programs such as the Jack Benny Program and Amos 'n' Andy.[5] He invented most of his own sound effects. He was known for making a funny line even funnier. Colvig is a legend among foley sound technicians.[4]
Bozo the clown
As a teenager Colvig ran away to join the circus.[7] He eventually performed as a circus clown. In 1946 he was hired by Capitol Records to work on the world's first read-along book “Bozo at the Circus.”[7] The book and record were a tremendous success and there were demands by children to see Bozo. Drawing on his circus background, Colvig created a clown character to match the books and records.[7] Station KTTV in Los Angeles created a television series for Bozo the clown starring Pinto Colvig.[7] After Bozo, Colvig returned to doing voice work.[7]
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Death
Colvig died of lung cancer on October 3, 1967, in Woodland Hills, California.[8] He was 75 years old.
Filmography
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References
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